


Things Left Behind

by Sasusquatch



Category: Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Gen, Snippet Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:01:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25890007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sasusquatch/pseuds/Sasusquatch
Summary: AU where there are a lot more ruins and relics left behind from the modern world, and Chrome is determined to find and discover as much about the past as possible!  Each chapter will be its own self-contained story.  No real plot, just an excuse to flesh out the cute idea I'd had a couple days ago.
Kudos: 12





	Things Left Behind

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! Each chapter is gonna be focused around a certain object, so if there's something (sfw) that you'd like to see be used, feel free to leave a suggestion!

Chrome shifted the pack on his back and surveyed the ruins ahead of him. They fell apart a little more, year by year, as the elements ate away at what he could only assume were once magnificent structures. The metallic skeletons towered over him at slanted angles, occasionally blocking his view of the sun. He would’ve given just about anything to have been able to see the buildings in their prime. The 100 Tales only really noted the importance of ruins such as the one he was standing in front of, not what the cities had been like. It was a shame how much history had been lost, how much he didn’t know.

But there was no point in mourning that which he couldn’t change. If he just sat there thinking he would waste daylight. So the young man shook his head to clear it and moved forward, heartbeat picking up as he imagined the sorts of treasures and artifacts he might uncover while he explored. Ishigami Village had been using trinkets from the old world for as long as he could remember, but rarely did anybody want to venture too far from home in order to collect new things. Therefore, Chrome had made it his mission in life to explore and collect as many useful things from the ruins that lay within a day’s walking distance from the village. He had been to this particular site several times before, but he never got the chance to explore it as thoroughly as he would like because it took him over half a day just to reach it. This time though, he was prepared. He had brought his sleeping bag with him along with enough food and water for two days, though he likely wouldn’t stay in the ruins for the full duration. 

He hadn’t made it very far into the ruins before he started noticing interesting objects. They came in all shapes, sizes, and materials. Lumps of wood, shards of shiny things, strangely molded bits of bendy stuff… most of it useless, but fun to look at and examine. It was fun to imagine what some of the objects had been, once upon a time. Flecks of paint still remained on some things, so he could even occasionally get an idea of what color something had once been. Maybe he could find something to bring back and restore.

Chrome picked his way through the dilapidated landscape, doing his best to avoid injuring himself on anything sharp. Off a little way in the distance was a tall, semi-intact building that he was curious about. If it was still sturdy, he could use the building as shelter for the night. Plus, who knew what sorts of treasures might remain inside, waiting to be found by him? His mind started to wander, thinking up all sorts of imagined objects that he could bring back to the village to show off. While he was distracted, he failed to be cautious about where he placed his feet, and a moment later saw him falling forward, getting a face-full of dirt for his troubles. He lifted himself up, sputtering, and looked towards his feet to see what it was that he had tripped over. It looked like some sort of container, though it was completely transparent and partially buried beneath the soil. Chrome hummed softly to himself and made his way over to the offending object. Carefully he grabbed onto its edges and pulled, relieved when the container didn’t offer much in the way of resistance. He worked it free of the ground in just a couple of moments and was pleased to see that there were other things lurking within. He set the box on the ground and looked for a way to open it. After several minutes of finding no immediate signs of an opening mechanism he tried tugging on the lid. With a few solid pulls, it popped open.

Heart racing, Chrome set the lid on the ground and moved to examine the objects within the box. They were all remarkably similar in size and shape to each other: dozens upon dozens of colorful cylinders. There were also some white sheets, though many of them had colorful marks haphazardly scrawled upon them. Curious, he picked up one of the smaller cylinders and dragged the tip of it over the sheet. Sure enough, where he moved the cylinder, a faint red line was left behind. These were likely meant for drawing or writing then, though he didn’t consider himself very good at doing either. Chrome grinned and played around with different colors for a couple of minutes, drawing a tree and the sun and a portrait of Chalk before gently placing the lid back on the box. The whole thing was small enough that he could carry it back with him with no problems; he wouldn’t even need to use his backpack. Pleased that he had already found something wonderful within just the first few minutes of his exploration, Chrome carried the box close to his chest as he once again made his way carefully towards the building he had spotted.

***

When he walked into Ishigami village the following afternoon he was immediately bombarded with questions. Was he alright? What sort of things did he find? Did he run into any outsiders? He answered everyone to the best of his ability while he set down his finds, waving the children in particular closer after having caught some of their eyes. He had found plenty of things, of course. There were some metal utensils that he was sure could be put to use in multiple ways, a bunch of small containers that could be used for storing liquids, and some sort of old toy that was clearly meant to be an animal, though it was no longer possible to tell exactly what it was supposed to be. Despite his bag full of treasures, though, his favorite were the colorful drawing cylinders. He popped the lid off the box and showed the children how they worked, and within moments everyone was wanting to have a turn at drawing something.

Chrome backed away to let the children have free reign. Sure, maybe it wasn’t the most useful thing he had found on his trip, but he sure felt warm inside when he saw how much fun everyone was having drawing colorful pictures.


End file.
